William Fenton
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William Fenton (December 15, 1908 - 17 June 2005) was a US scholar and writer known for his extensive studies of Iroquois history and culture. He started his studies of the Iroquois in the 1930s and published a number of significant works over following decades with his final work published in 2002. During his career, Fenton was director of the New York State Museum and a professor of anthropology at the State University of New York.
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[edit] Early career (1908-1955)
Fenton was born William Nelson Fenton in New Rochelle, New York in 1908. He grew up in the west of New York State and attended the University of Rochester graduating in 1931 and received a doctorate from Yale University in 1937. In the 1930's, he lived among the Seneca in the 1930s in western New York becoming fluent in the Iroquois language.
He soon made his mark on the field becoming known as a leader of Iroquois studies. Fenton issued a number of position papers during the 1940s and 1950s outlining problems and issues relating to the Iroquois that required further studies. He encouraged other students of the Iroqouis to meet and discuss issues of concern in the field notably in meetings at Red House in New York. Fenton focussed attention on such issues as diversity in culture and connections between northern and southern tribes.
In his work as an ethnologist with the Smithsonian Institution's Bureau of American Ethnology, he drew attention to the substantial historic and ethnographic sources. He undertook substantial studies of Iroquois music and dance during the 1930s and 1940s while working at the Smithsonian.
[edit] Later career (1956-2005)
Dr Fenton reached the position of senior ethnologist at the Smithsonian Institution in the 1950's before he left to work at the New York State Museum at Albany. He reached the position of director and built an extensive collection of Iroquois materials. Fenton was criticised by some tribes for not returning artefacts as he regarded museums as necessary safeguards for cultural heritage. He was also criticised by some tribal leaders for revealing sacred rituals.
Fenton left the New York State Museum to become Professor of Anthropology at the State University of New York in Albany, retiring from that position in 1979. He remained active in studies of the Iroquois publishing The Great Law and the Longhouse: a political history of the Iroquois in 1998 when he was nearly 90.
He died on June 17, 2005 in Cooperstown, New York, aged 96.
[edit] Written works
Fenton wrote extensively on Iroquois culture and history for several decades. His most notable works include:
- An Outline of Seneca ceremonies at Coldspring Longhouse 1936 work at Yale University studying for his doctorate
- Contacts between Iroquois herbalism and colonial medicine 1941 ISBN 0-8466-4032-5;
- Songs from the Iroquois longhouse : program notes for an album of American Indian music from the eastern woodlands 1942 Library of Congress music collection;
- The Roll Call of the Iroquois Chiefs 1950 ISBN 0-404-15536-7
- Symposium on local diversity in Iroquois culture US Government Printing Office 1951;
- The Iroquois Eagle Dance: an offshoot of the Calumet Dance 1953 ISBN 0-8156-2533-2
- The False Faces of the Iroquois 1987 ISBN 0-8061-2039-8;
- The Great Law and the Longhouse: a political history of the Iroquois 1998 ISBN 0-585-19883-7; and
- The Little Water Medicine Society of the Senecas 2002 ISBN 0-8061-3447-X.
[edit] References
- Canadian Press obituary
- Michael K. Campisi Jack and Mithun Marianne Foster (editors) Extending the Rafters: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Iroquois Studies SUNY Press Albany New York 1984 ISBN 0-87395-780-6
- New York Times obituary, June 23 2005
- William Fenton research collection
- RedLightGreen list of written works by William Nelson Fenton
